Thirteen years ago, Sitecore launched the “Most Valuable Professional” program, which recognizes exceptional professionals from the Sitecore community. Over the past 12 years, more than 450 Sitecore professionals from EPAM have delivered large-scale, digital marketing solutions for some of the largest global enterprises. This year, twelve EPAMers were awarded the MVP status out of a small group of 315 Sitecore experts from the more than 12,000 certified developers and more than 20,000 active community participants, including:

Reaching MVP status is not an easy feat, as it requires community members to share their product expertise and mastery of the Sitecore platform with other Sitecore partners and customers. “I’m excited and proud of how much our team and Sitecore expertise has grown along with the fast growth of our company. Sitecore continues to be a key partner for EPAM, helping us bring our customers’ digital strategies to life through engaging and sophisticated digital platforms,” said David Mead, Director of Technology and Head of Sitecore Competency Center.

Here’s what some of our Sitecore MVPs had to say about their MVP status, advice for becoming an MVP, their Sitecore-related goals and more:

What advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a Sitecore MVP?

Jose Dominguez: Be active everywhere: online and offline. If you aren’t active offline, such as presenting at user groups, try to be as active as possible in all online channels, including Slack, StackExchange and Sitecore forums. Another important point is to plan ahead: Many people become active during the last months of the year, but it’s very important to keep up the good work all year long.

What does being named a Sitecore MVP mean to you?

Alex Smagin: I'm honored to be named Sitecore MVP for three years in a row and proud that Sitecore recognized my community contributions. To me, it means that the efforts that I put into creating open source solutions, blogging and promoting the platform are valuable to the Sitecore Community.

What are your 2019 Sitecore-related goals?

Tony Mamedbekov: I started an initiative called Sitecore Front-End Friends. My goal is to merge the gap between Sitecore developers and front end developers, and share the capabilities of Sitecore Omni™ to the JavaScript community. I was appointed President of the Sitecore Houston UserGroup, so I’m also focused on this initiative. I have the goal to build a fully functioning website that runs JSS to share with the community.

What does being named a Sitecore MVP mean to you?

Paul Urban: I’m grateful to be recognized as a leader who makes a positive impression on my peers and for my contributions to the global Sitecore community.

Joe Bissol: Getting chosen as a Sitecore Technology MVP is such an honor because it’s a recognition that I was able to share with the Sitecore developer community that I motivate, inspire and teach.

What advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a Sitecore MVP?

Dmytro Shevchenko: One of the common misconceptions about being a Sitecore Technology MVP is that this award implies superior technical knowledge. While it is certainly true that MVPs tend to know Sitecore exceptionally well, being a technical guru is not an explicit requirement. The most important thing for an MVP candidate is the level of their community contribution.

What are some benefits of being named a Sitecore MVP?

Chris Williams: Being an MVP is very important. As a Sitecore MVP, you have early access to roadmaps and products, which allows us to provide feedback on what works and how Sitecore could improve, as well as anything that might impact customers. Ultimately, we can better guide clients with their solutions and have insight into what’s around the corner.

Zachary Kniebel: I actually find that the MVP status has a positive impact on my work with clients and prospects. When a prospect who hasn’t met me hears that I’m a Sitecore Technology MVP, they know that Sitecore has endorsed my knowledge and stands behind me. This is invaluable, as it helps customers feel more comfortable collaborating with me and gives them more faith in our outputs. The MVP status is great for existing clients as well, as it gives me more access to the top minds in the field and enables me to collaborate with them to get faster answers to complex questions, as well as work directly with Sitecore’s teams to relay feedback and address issues with critical time constraints.

Congrats to all EPAM's Sitecore MVPs! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with our clients, colleagues and communities.